The 63rd Bilderberg Meeting will take place this week, June 11 to 14, at the Interalpen Hotel Tyrol, a spacious luxury resort set in a secluded alpine location near the popular holiday resort of Seefeld, in the Tyrol region of Austria.

A total of around 140 participants from 22 countries have confirmed their attendance. “As ever, a diverse group of political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia and the media have been invited”, the official press release mentions.

Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (here in 1942) played an instrumental role in establishing the Bilderberg Group, which he chaired for over 20 years (1954-1975) | Photo by Yousuf Karsh – Library and Archives Canada

Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg Meetings are “designed to foster dialogue between Europe and North America”, and as “a forum for informal discussions about major issues facing the world”, says the official website.

Between 120-150 political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia and the media are invited at these annual meetings. About two thirds of the participants come from Europe and the rest from North America; approximately one third are from politics and government.

The list of this year’s participants, which is available on the Bilderberg Meetings official website, not only includes heads of State and ministers, but a “Who Is Who” of some of the most powerful and influential people in the world, with representatives from such organizations as the US Department of State, the European Commission, the Danish Intelligence Service, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Harvard University, Google, LinkedIn, the Hudson Institute, NATO, and more:

Now 92, ex-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger remains a fixture at the Bilderberg Meetings | David Shankbone, 2009, Wiki Commons

Although the group claims “There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued”, it announced that this year’s agenda will cover such topics as artificial intelligence, cyber-security, terrorism, chemical weapons threats, globalization, Greece, Iran and the Middle East, as well as NATO, Russia, and the US elections.

This year’s meeting will not only be held in secrecy, but also behind some unusually intense security measures that include a 10-km exclusion zone and support from a group called Cobra. This anti-terror unit will be on standby to provide security at Bilderberg 2015, as reported by Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars.com, which will have reporters on location throughout the coming week.

Bilderberg Steering Committee

Henri de Castries | Wiki Commons

The Bilderberg Meetings are led by its Steering Committee, whose current Chairman is Henri de La Croix de Castries, 5th Comte de Castries, Chairman and CEO of AXA Group, a French multinational investment and banking firm headquartered in Paris, France.

Other prominent members of the Committee include José M. Durão Barroso, former President of the European Commission; Jessica T. Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Canadian business woman Heather M. Reisman, Chair and CEO of Indigo Books & Music; Jean-Claude Trichet, Honorary Governor of the Banque de France and former President of the European Central Bank; and unsurprisingly, David Rockefeller, who is a member of the Bilderberg’s “Advisory Group”. Click here to view complete list of Steering Committee membership.

Participants Bound to Secrecy

Of course, everyone knows there are no such things as secret societies meeting behind closed doors, etching dark conspiracies to shape global affairs. Thankfully, the Bilderberg website is quite reassuring in this respect, reminding us that the meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule, which states that “participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speakers nor of any other participant may be revealed.” No secrecy implied here, nor in the following statement:

“Thanks to the private nature of the conference, the participants are not bound by the conventions of their office or by pre-agreed positions. As such, they can take time to listen, reflect and gather insights. There is no desired outcome, no minutes are taken and no report is written. Furthermore, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued.”
― Source: Bilderberg Meetings official website

The first Bilderberg meeting took place in Hotel De Bilderberg in Oosterbeek, Netherlands, from May 29 to 31, 1954. The hotel gave its name both to the Group and those who participate in its activities (Bilderbergers). Source: Wikipedia/Michiel1972

“Through the years, the meetings have become a forum for discussion on a wide range of topics ― from trade to jobs, from monetary policy to investment and from ecological challenges to the task of promoting international security. In the context of a globalized world, it is hard to think of any issue in either Europe or North America that could be tackled unilaterally.”
― Source: Bilderberg Meetings official website

Bilderberg Frequently Asked Questions ― as answered by the Group

Q. What criteria do I have to meet, and what do I have to do to get an invitation for a Bilderberg meeting?

A. There is no application process. The key question is whether participants can bring an interesting perspective to the discussions. Participants are invited because they can offer a different point of view.

Q. How does the invitation procedure work?

A. Steering Committee members propose invitees to the Chairman, who consults with the other members of the Steering Committee and decides whether an invitation is issued or not. There is always comprehensive discussion to ensure maximum diversity in background, views, generations and gender.

Q. Are journalists allowed to attend – is there an accreditation procedure and how can I apply?

A. The meeting is closed to reporting journalists in order to encourage the highest level of openness and dialogue. As a result, there is no accreditation of journalists. Over the years journalists have attended à titre personnel.

Q. With such high-caliber guests, why is there so little media coverage on Bilderberg?

A. The conference has never sought any public attention. An annual press conference on the eve of the conference was held for several decades up until the nineties, but it was stopped due to a lack of interest. However, the list of participants, main topics and the location are always published before each conference.

Q. In today’s information society, and with so many of your participants regularly underscoring the importance of transparency in an open society, how can you justify imposing the Chatham House Rule on proceedings?

A. Participants are of course free to discuss the conferences and many do so every year. However, participants are asked not to quote each other. This is to ensure that the participants feel they can speak freely in an environment of trust.

Q. How are the Bilderberg meetings financed? Do participants pay to attend?

A. Annual contributions by Steering Committee members cover the annual costs of the secretariat. The budget of the secretariat is limited to the costs of the conference. Participation is by invitation only and there is no attendance fee.

All quite above-board, really ― you will be invited simply for having “a different point of view”, and it won’t cost you a penny as there is no attendance fee. However, since there is no application process either, I guess you’ll have to wait for an invitation ― good luck to all in the alternative media! Anyway, it would all be very boring and uninteresting, as the annual press conference was discontinued in the 1990s “due to a lack of interest…”

■ Henri Thibodeau

For more information on the Bilderberg Meetings, a fascinating background article has just been published (June 8) by Michael Snyder on End Of The American Dream:The Bilderberg Group: Founded By A Nazi And Continuing The Agenda Of The Nazis ― When you want to discover what an organization is really all about, it is important to dig down to the roots. And when you uncover the roots of the Bilderberg Group, you find some very unsettling things…

Many thanks for re-blogging my article. These words are coming true: “There is nothing covered up now that will not be exposed. Nothing is secret that will not be revealed. Every secret you’ve kept will become known. What you have whispered in hidden places will be shouted from the housetops.”
Henri T.